Sen. John Marty

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The Equifax data breach last summer exposed the Social Security numbers of almost half of all Americans. The full impact of the data theft may not be clear for many years yet, but the exposure of Social Security numbers can cause long term problems related to identity theft. Equifax and other data reporting companies use the private financial records of virtually every American for their profits, yet they clearly do not do enough to protect your privacy.

What if Republicans repealed Minnesota's campaign finance reforms and nobody knew about it? Unfortunately, that is happening right now. Both the Minnesota House and Senate recently passed legislation to repeal the heart of Minnesota's campaign finance reform laws. These were major reforms adopted on a bipartisan basis 40 years ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal and were strengthened after an ethics scandal in the early 1990s.

Working people should not be trapped in poverty. This was part of the social contract America made with its people eighty years ago in the New Deal: Workers will receive a minimum wage. It may not be enough to make you rich, but you will have enough to afford necessities for your family — food, housing, clothing, medical care. We are far from fulfilling that social contract. Economic hardship affects many: one of every three Minnesota children are in families struggling to make ends meet. One in ten households have times when family members go hungry because they have no money for food.